Large asteroid 2012 DA14 heading to Earth NASA say Pray!

CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA chief Charles Bolden has advice on how to handle a large asteroid headed toward New York City: Pray.

Congress got the word from NASA on Tuesday about its options for dealing
with the threats posed by asteroids and comets: Lawmakers can either
provide adequate funding for detecting and characterizing near-Earth
objects, and diverting them if necessary — or they can pray.

The passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 through the Earth-moon system, is
depicted in this handout image from NASA.
REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout

That's about all the United States - or anyone for that matter - could
do at this point about unknown asteroids and meteors that may be on a
collision course with Earth, Bolden told lawmakers at a U.S. House of
Representatives Science Committee hearing on Tuesday.

An asteroid estimated to be have been about 55 feet (17 meters) in
diameter exploded on Feb. 15 over Chelyabinsk, Russia, generating shock
waves that shattered windows and damaged buildings. More than 1,500
people were injured.

Later that day, a larger,
unrelated asteroid discovered last year passed about 17,200 miles
(27,681 km) from Earth, closer than the network of television and
weather satellites that ring the planet.

The
events "serve as evidence that we live in an active solar system with
potentially hazardous objects passing through our neighborhood with
surprising frequency," said Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, a
Texas Democrat.

"We were fortunate that the
events of last month were simply an interesting coincidence rather than a
catastrophe," said Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican,
who called the hearing to learn what is being done and how much money is
needed to better protect the planet.

NASA has
found and is tracking about 95 percent of the largest objects flying
near Earth, those that are .62 miles (1 km) or larger in diameter.

"An asteroid of that size, a kilometer or bigger, could plausibly end
civilization," White House science advisor John Holdren told legislators
at the same hearing.

But only about 10 percent
of an estimated 10,000 potential "city-killer" asteroids, those with a
diameter of about 165 feet (50 meters) have been found, Holdren added.

On average, objects of that size are estimated to hit Earth about once every 1,000 years.

"From the information we have, we don't know of an asteroid that will
threaten the population of the United States," Bolden said. "But if it's
coming in three weeks, pray."

In addition to
stepping up its monitoring efforts and building international
partnerships, NASA is looking at developing technologies to divert an
object that may be on a collision course with Earth.

"The odds of a near-Earth object strike causing massive casualties and
destruction of infrastructure are very small, but the potential
consequences of such an event are so large it makes sense to takes the
risk seriously," Holdren said.

About 66 million
years ago, an object 6 miles (10 km) in diameter is believed to have
smashed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, leading to the
demise of the dinosaurs, as well as most plant and animal life on
Earth.

The asteroid that exploded over Russia
last month was the largest object to hit Earth's atmosphere since the
1908 Tunguska event when an asteroid or comet exploded over Siberia,
leveling 80 million trees over more than 830 square miles (2,150 sq km). — Reuters